


Play

by Frigid



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-13 23:33:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1244473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frigid/pseuds/Frigid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Series of oneshots about Admiral Koris and Admiral Xen. Maybe NSFW in some future chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mind Games

Koris chuckled as he idly flicked through the screens.  
“So you do have everything bugged?” Xen’s smirk is enough to answer his question.  
He wonders if his own cabin on the Qwib-Qwib is bugged too.  
“And mine?”  
“Of course. I make sure to keep an eye on you.” He settles on watching the other admirals in their evening routines. Rael appears to be studying geth parts, whilst Han was messing around with his shotgun. Shala wasn’t to be found in her office, but a quick search showed her with several quarians and their children.  
“Typical. Rael and Han shut themselves away whilst Shala actually interacts with her crew.” In the past this never would have bothered him, but it leaves a sour taste in his mouth that Koris has never been able to explain.  
“Oh? But isn’t that what you’re doing right now? Shutting yourself away... with me?” She turns to concentrate on her programming.  
Her attitude has rubbed off on him. Koris can’t help it. Once these visits had started, he couldn’t stop them. She drew him in. Xen had always been the most reclusive of the admirals, never giving anything away.  
He’s learned so much about her now, yet still the hidden depths of her personality elude him. It angers Koris that she knows all there is to know about his personal life thanks to her cameras and he knows almost nothing her.  
Those cameras. Koris cannot deny the feelings that come from watching his fellow admirals, even as they are not aware of his gaze. The things he could learn. Admiralty meetings are so much more entertaining now. Gone are the times when he would concentrate on Gerrel, arguing until Raan and Zorah pulled them apart.  
Rather, Koris watches the board as a whole. Gerrel is easily manipulated. A few choice words could send him into a flying rage or into sulken silence. He finds it pleasing to constantly lead Han between the two. It amuses him.  
Rael is more withdrawn. He is careful in his speech, but still predictable. He’s observant, and has definitely noticed the change in Koris’ attitude. Koris flips the vidscreen back to Rael’s office. He is agitated, his tense body and jittery hands show that. A probable side effect of Koris’ meddling.  
Xen had quickly joined him in his mind games. Not that she hadn’t been doing it already, but with the two of them playing, Gerrel was oft left dumbfounded and outnumbered.  
Koris had originally found it odd that she had sided with him, even after his visits, but he quickly understood the cause. Boredom, of course. Such a great, intelligent mind had no business being coddled up in dark rooms, trapped by myriad politics.  
As fun as his games were, there was a point at which they had to end, and that was when Xen started getting bored. Koris was beholden to her wishes and demands, and found it agreeable, for her demands were simple. She cared not to ruin his standing, simply that he would always be available.  
He hoped that one day he might be able to label this strange partnership, but it would not be soon.  
A curse drags his mind from the intricacy of Xen’s being to the mundane realities of her office. She has given up on her work, evidently frustrated that her programs refused to bow to her whims. Had he the knowledge and expertise to help her, Koris would spend his days working to create her perfect virus if it brought him closer to understanding Xen, but his mind is nothing compared to hers.  
Koris knows that she is dangerous, but he loves it. The warnings of his own mother drift through the sands of time, but the words are indistinct. He finds himself moving towards her, to distract her attention and please her, circling his arms around her waist. She responds, twisting round and pushing him towards the bed.  
She is like red sand, he thinks. Addictive, an exhilarating high when she is near and dark lows when she is not, and eventually, she will be the death of him. And yet, he follows on.


	2. Two Worlds

They are worlds apart, in every sense of the phrase. Their personalities contradict and yet it seemed to work, but almost the entire galaxy separates them. Rannoch should demand his full attention, but Koris’ thoughts lie only with her on Earth.

It will be months before Xen returns, but he lives his days expecting her to summon him to her. It is a summon, not invite or message or suggest a friendly visit.

It is friendly, though. Even as she pretends to remain aloof and unconcerned of her surroundings, he has noticed a change in her disposition. It is her own fault that he has, for she has helped to open his ears to hear more than just words and to see more than a body.

No one else has earned her approval, and he has barely earned it. The way she barely nods her head when he has won a verbal debate against the other admirals, the way she will shift her body to be angled towards him. When Xen talks, he is the only one to hear that change in tone at the end of a sentence.

Koris finds himself ill at ease in the solitude of Rannoch. It is solitude, for she is not there. Raan may be there, but there is no fun to be had in talking with her. Raan is above the petty disagreements that divide the board. His crew are dead, and he is the only survivor. Not that it mattered much. He had played the part of distraught admiral enough to fool the eyes of observers, pretended to mourn his losses, and now only his ship name remains. He will take vas Rannoch eventually, but his misguided stubbornness over his ship name in the past means he must keep it for now.

Koris finds that Rannoch does not suit him well alone. He will be conversing with Raan to find himself being snappish. Xen’s presence calms him, and her absence does not bode well, for him and everyone else.

He digs out holovids, pictures, everything he can find from the fleet’s ship archives, trying to learn about Xen. Koris hopes he can know her before she returns, surprise her and impress her. It’s carefully encrypted, locked down to prevent access likely by Xen herself, but he has not spent months in her quarters to learn nothing about hacking.

Koris expects that she has set alarms on her data; to alert her if someone tries to access her personal files. He finds none, and that worries him. He does not think she is that careless.

He learns less than he might have hoped. Her ship name, her pilgrimage gift, birth date… it is all on there. Koris doesn’t know what he had hoped _for_ , but he feels disappointed.

For all his education on hacking, learned simply by observation, Koris is not Xen. Of course she knows if someone tries to access her data. He finds her message on his terminal in the early hours, reading it again and again, hearing her voice.

 

_Spying on me, Zaal? You must be feeling awfully bored. Should I tease Han and video it for you?_

_-Daro_

He doesn’t respond. He’s not sure how to. In the past, a message like this was obvious in its meaning. Go to the Moreh and not leave until the next day. The Moreh, however, is on the other side of the galaxy, and there is nothing he can do.

Until Xen returns, he has to wait, and that he can do.


	3. Problem?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slightly NSFW-ish. Just mentions of arse appreciation.

For once, Koris was grateful for the mask hiding his scowl. Of course Daro couldn’t expect him to agree with her, could she? Folding his arms, he waits for her to respond.

“Oh, Zaal. You always take things so seriously.” She chuckles. _Arrogant bosh’tet_ , he thinks.  
“Try and play your little games as much as you want, Xen. Gerrel might buy into them but I won’t be your plaything.” He heads towards the door, not intending to stay here much longer. Koris might not admit it, but the Moreh has an atmosphere unlike any other ship he’s been on. Perhaps it’s because the only people willing to live here are as strange as Xen herself.

“Leaving so soon?” Xen’s tone is mocking. He pauses to look at her, a bad decision as she locks the door. He could technically override her lock with his admiralty privilege, but that thought doesn’t cross his mind. Koris is more worried about _why_ she’s locked him in.

“Open the door, Xen.” He at least manages to keep his voice steady as she walks towards him. ‘Walks’ might not be the correct term. ‘Stalks’ is more accurate. He resists the urge to back away. He won’t give her the satisfaction.

She stops almost right in front of him.

“But you’d be such a _nice_ toy…” If it weren’t for the mask, Koris would say she was pouting as she reaches out and runs her finger up his arm. He can’t help tensing up, almost batting her hand away when it reaches his shoulder.

“Go and play with Gerrel, Xen. I’m sure he’d be _quite_ willing.” He reaches up to move her hand off him.

Koris wouldn’t have guessed her to be that strong though, when she grabs his arms and twists them behind him, letting out an undignified yelp. Xen chuckles, pushing him forward until he’s pressed up against the wall. 

“I could get used to hearing that sound.” She grips his arms with one hand and strokes his back with the other. He squirms slightly at her touch, trying to push her off to no avail. Her hand makes it way downwards, running over his arse.

“X-Xen, what are you thinking?” He hisses, trying to ignore her starting to pinch and squeeze.

“I’m just admiring the goods, Admiral,” Xen practically purrs, “And I’m liking what I see.” She releases his arms and steps back, rubbing her hands together. He quickly moves away, sliding past her towards the door. He’ll use his override if she doesn’t let him out now.

She snorts, waving her omnitool and unlocking the door. Koris narrows his eyes. He was expecting something more than that.

“Well? What are you waiting for, Koris? I have things to do.” She turns away, obviously a dismissal. Taking his chance to leave, he doesn’t miss her parting words.

“Though I do expect to be seeing you again…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> done as a gift for embersalamander on tumblr. Salo, you're the only reason I'm still writing this pairing. It's not healthy!


End file.
